Here's another great travel article from The Guardian. This time the focus is on volunteer holidays in general, and more specifically one woman's vacation to Namibia, where she helped to search for the elusive cheetahs that live there.
Approximately one third of the World's cheetah population is believed to exist in Namibia, but it's difficult to judge exactly how many do roam the savannah there. Conservationists do their best to try to track them, but they simply don't have enough time, man power, or resources to properly conduct a census. That's were volunteer tourism can come into play. In this case, Sue Watt gave up her own vacation time and spent her own money, to journey to Namibia and spend her days hoping to get a glimpse of the ethereal big cat.
Volunteer holidays are a growing trend, as they often allow us to take part in adventures that we wouldn't necessarily have the opportunity to do on our own, while also getting the chance to contribute to a cause. Besides searching for cheetahs in Africa, the article suggests several other similar vacations, such as researching bleaching of coral reefs in Fiji or working to remove invasive plants while you explore the Galapagos Islands.
You can find even more suggestions at ResonsibleTravel.com which books volunteer vacations all over the globe.
Thanks to my friend Colm for sending this one my way.
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